January, 2009:

The Grand Prix of Gibraltar

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It was probably over twenty five years ago that I heard Peter Ustinov’s The Grand Prix of Gibraltar. I was somewhere in country Western Australia and I heard it on a country radio station. I remember being amazed by it back then and forever after searching for the album (you remember those big black vinyl things) in the comedy section of every record shop I’d visit.

I listened all the way through absolutely glued to the car radio as I heard a most hilarious calling of a motor race. There were race callers, drivers and all sorts of other people involved in the extremely funny parody of a race call. I was even more amazed once the album finished and the announcer mentioned that it was Peter Ustinov doing all the voices and all but one of the sound effects.

As well as looking in record shops over the years, I’ve tried to search for the recording online every now and then. Nothing. Then today I searched again to find that while I may never find it on vinyl, it’s now available on CD, which is even better.

I was totally flabbergasted to read a line from one of the reviews on Amazon about the recording.

Just for a second imagine there is a race around the rock of Gibraltar… and that we’re back in the 50s when racing cars still looked like cars. Well, sort of. That was Peter Ustinov’s fabulous idea as he went into a Manhattan studio to record this gem. He finished it in one day, without script.

One day … without a script. The guy was a genius.

I had the pleasure of seeing Sir Peter Ustinov live twice at the Perth Concert Hall, several years apart. Both times he was absolutely captivating as he just stood or sat and told stories. He had the amazing ability to bring stories to life and I would have sat hours longer just to hear more of his wit and story telling. The Concert Hall was full on both occasions yet both times he made it feel like I was spending an evening chatting with an old friend.

I’d love to sit here and tell you more about Ustinov’s amazing talents but I’m off to order my copy of the CD. I suggest you do the same.

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Charity with Soul Steps Forward to Claim Shoes

Jan 5th, 2009

by Rodney Olsen.

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If you’ve read this blog in the past you probably know that I visited Haiti last year and saw the desperate conditions under which so many are living. You may have also read my previous post talking about Soles4Souls , a wonderful organisation that provides shoes for those in need around the world.

Today I heard that Soles4Souls has stepped forward to collect the thousands of shoes mysteriously dumped on a Miami highway. They’ll then send them to the Caribbean nation of Haiti. Great news.

The start of the New Year turned ugly for many commuters in Miami on Friday, when drivers were delayed by several thousand pairs of shoes littering the highway. Nashville-based shoe charity Soles4Souls contacted the Florida Highway Patrol and offered to immediately collect the shoes on behalf of needy people it supports, both here in the United States and around the world.

“These shoes are abandoned property and we’re happy that Soles4Souls can make good use out them,” said Lt. Pat Santengelo of the Florida Highway Patrol.

Soles4Souls Founder and CEO, Wayne Elsey, said the sight of thousands of abandoned shoes was a stark reminder of how many shoes are tossed into American landfills. “Too many perfectly good shoes are thrown away each year, and it’s a shame,” he said. “Soles4Souls is dedicated to keeping usable footwear out of our landfills and putting them on the feet of needy people around the world,” he said.

Some great news to start the year.

If you want to help Soles4Souls in their great work you can visit their website and donate directly.

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Simply Living Book Club

Jan 3rd, 2009

by Rodney Olsen.

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I hate to admit it but I’ve never read any of the Narnia series of books by C.S. Lewis.

That’s all about to change with the Simply Living Book Club.

Life Skills Trainer, Jill Bonanno, joined me yesterday on 98.5 Sonshine FM for our weekly radio segment, Simply Living. We looked at some different ideas for New Year’s Resolutions and how to keep the ones we make. One of the things we talked about was making more time to read in 2009.

To help our listeners set their own goals for reading this year we’ve started a book club. Each month we’ll suggest a book and then give listeners a month to read it before we discuss the book on-air, inviting people to call in with their thoughts or even email what they thought of the book. We’re hoping to look at a mixture of new titles and some of the classics.

To get the ball rolling we’re going to be reading The Lion, The With and the Wardrobe, part of the Chronicles of Narnia. The generous people at Koorong gave five of our listeners a book containing the complete series of Narnia titles so that they can enjoy being part of the book club. They’ve also given me a copy so that I can read along. I’m looking forward to spending a few hours immersed in the writings of C.S. Lewis.

Have you read The Lion, The With and the Wardrobe recently? (No, I don’t mean have you seen the movie.) Would you like to be part of the book club? Maybe you can grab a copy and read or re-read the story before the end of the month. You can leave your thoughts in the comments section of this post. I’d also be interested in your suggestions for books we could read in the coming months.

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What's the big idea?

Jan 2nd, 2009

by Rodney Olsen.

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Do you have any big ideas for 2009?

This time last year I was looking ahead to early April when I was scheduled to fly to Haiti with Compassion Australia to see their child sponsorship programmes at work. As it turned out we were only able to stay in Port au Prince for a couple of days before food riots made it necessary to leave the country and travel to neighbouring Dominican Republic to see Compassion’s work there.

There were other events throughout 2008 but the Compassion trip was certainly a highlight.

So what’s my big idea for 2009?

I guess it’s all about moving house and connecting with a new community. Over the past few months we’ve been busy getting our current home ready to sell so the task is now to find a buyer before finding a new house and moving. A big task indeed.

Do you have any major events or plans this year? Is there a change of jobs or a change of scenery on the radar for you? What are your big ideas for 2009?